Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump did not pass any secrets onto Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Washington on May 9 and that he could prove it.
Speaking at a news conference alongside Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Putin quipped that Lavrov had not passed what he said were the non-existent secrets onto him either.
Putin said Russia was ready to hand a transcript of Trump’s meeting with Lavrov over to U.S. lawmakers if that would help reassure them.
Two U.S. officials said on Monday that Trump had disclosed highly classified information to Lavrov about a planned Islamic State operation, plunging the White House into another controversy just months into Trump’s short tenure in office.
On Tuesday, Trump said that he had an “absolute right” to share intelligence information with Russia.
“As President, I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining … to terrorism and airline flight safety,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism,” he continued.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump revealed highly classified information about the Islamic State extremist group during a meeting last week with Russian envoys in the Oval Office.
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